HAYWARD / Teen playing on tracks tried on manslaughter charges

A teenage boy was tried Monday on charges of involuntary manslaughter for allegedly playing chicken with an Amtrak train in Hayward -- only to be pushed from the tracks by a 14-year-old girl who was struck instead and killed.

The judge rejected a media request to open the proceedings, saying he wanted to protect the minor's rights. Because of his order, the attorneys handling the case, who had also supported closing the hearing, were unavailable to comment.

The disposition of the case couldn't be determined because of the judge's sealing order.

Jasmin, as she was called by family and friends, had been with a group of friends at a train crossing behind Tennyson High School in Hayward.

Witnesses told police that Jasmin saw the boy playing on the tracks as the train approached at about 2:30 p.m. Jasmin pushed him out of the way and was hit by a train headed to San Jose from Sacramento.

Many students leave the school property through a gate in a fence and then cross the tracks at a marked crossing that has flashing red lights, school officials said.

Jasmin had hoped to pursue a career helping troubled teenagers, said her sister, Lisset Castro, 20, who wore a shirt bearing Jasmin's picture and dates of birth and death.

"She would always make everybody happy, always want to help everybody out, " Lisset Castro said. She said the boy was rightfully charged in the case. "Playing on the track is not a game. It was no joke for my sister," she said.

Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis agreed, saying often it's hard to judge how fast a train is moving because of its size.

"It's like watching a large aircraft, like a 747, coming in to land," he said. "It looks like it's just floating in the air when in fact it's going 150 or 200 mph."